Well here goes... Aluminium frame router design

[CharlieRam]

Okay so what if I were to make the spindle plate 30mm thick aluminium or 20mm+ thick steel ( I could grind the steel perfectly flat and parallel at work, well within a couple of microns anyway), would that be strong enough to have the bearing blocks the opposite way round or does that method just not work? in fact a lot of the plates could be made of steel which would be easier for me to grind flat as we use mag chucks, it would add weight but also a lot of strength.

Probably dont want to change too much though as the weight will increase substantially!